Recently reissued in a nice trade paperback, THE BEST HORROR FROM FANTASY TALES is an anthology of stories derived from a magazine I didn’t even know existed, but apparently was around for more than a decade. In this best-of collection, you can read all about Mexico murders, having your skin pores close up, haunted closets, snake-like tongues and — yes! — Clive Barker’s original Candyman story (“The Forbidden”).
I was honestly embarrassed it to buy it because the cover is so fanboy-cheesy, but I’m glad I stuck it out. There are a couple of turds among the 20 tales, but three stories struck me as truly creepy: the first was Fritz Leiber’s medical-themed “In the X-Ray” from 1949, which has one of those great shock endings; unfortunately, the book spoils the twist for you in the illustration that opens the story.
Richard Christian Matheson’s grisly “Red” is a mere two pages with a severe right hook that lands a punch in your stomach, and Thomas Ligotti’s “The Frolic,” about a kid-snatching madman, gave my wife a nightmare after I told her about it. I am a mean husband.
Other notable authors among this strongly recommended edition include Robert Bloch, Manly Wade Wellman, Brian Lumley, Kim Newman, Ramsey Campbell and Karl Edward Wagner.
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